American Egg Board releases 2009 annual report

In its 2009 annual report, the American Egg Board recorded total revenue of $21.1M in 2009, of which 98% was derived from assessments. Expenditures of $25M resulted in a deficit of $5.1 million. Operating expenses included $12.6M for advertising; $3.1M for nutrition, research and promotion; $2.0M for support of state marketing initiatives; $1.5M for food service promotion; $1.8M for agricultural education; $1.1M for egg product marketing; and $1M for industry programs. Administrative expenses were held to less than 5%.
The annual report highlighted activities under the categories of agricultural education, consumer marketing, food service and egg product marketing, industry programs, and nutrition. The organization’s Good Egg Project made 100 million impressions over the last four months of 2009. Eggs were promoted through The Rachel Ray Show, Sesame Street, The Early Show and various social media channels. Other activities included the annual White House Easter Egg Roll and maintaining the Incredible Edible Egg consumer Web site. Publications such as Readers Digest, Scholastics, Weight Watchers and leading newspapers carried recipes and promotional materials featuring eggs.
Among food service and egg product marketing activities, the American Egg Board concentrated on quick-service retail increasing egg servings by an additional 120 million during 2009. The organization carried out promotions directed at culinary schools and demonstrations at the National Restaurant Association Show and the School Nutrition Associations National Conference, where Howard Helmer mounted omelet demonstrations. Helmer is the Guinness World Record holder for fastest omelet maker.
Nutrition research was restructured with the transfer of the Egg Nutrition Center to the American Egg Board’s headquarters. A number of studies were published in peer-reviewed journals, and informational reports on nutrition were provided to the media. The Egg Ambassadors program secured more than 90 million media impressions during the year directed to professionals in medicine and dietetics.